Popular Greek Recipes: July 2006

Rizogalo (Greek Rice Pudding)

35min./4 servings

1/2 cup long grain white rice
3 cups whole milk
1 lemon, zest of (try to peel it off in one long strip)
1/3 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons cornflour

Place milk, sugar and lemon zest in a heavy saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar melts. 3. Reduce heat to low and add the rice. Cover the pan and cook until most of the milk has been absorbed (about 25-30 minutes). Turn off heat. Remove lemon peel and discard. Combine egg yolks with corn flour. Quickly whisk egg yolks into the rice mixture, stirring well. Keep stirring to make sure yolks are incorporated and won't curdle. Spoon pudding into four serving dishes and cool. Top with a sprinkling of cinnamon

Greek Turkey Burger

By Bek Davis
Here is a melt in your mouth Greek Turkey Burger. This recipe is a low fat version of they typical beef burger. The combination of flavors will pop in your mouth.

Happy Cooking!

Ingredients:

* Crusty Hard Rolls
* 1 pound of ground Turkey
* 1/2 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
* 3 T. Olive Oil
* 2 T. Garlic, minced
* 3 T. Oregano, chopped
* Juice of 1/2 real lemon
* Salt and Pepper, to taste
* Red Onion, sliced (garnish)
* Lettuce, shredded (garnish)
* Tomato, sliced (garnish)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400*

2. Crumble your feta into small pieces

3. Chop your garlic and oregano

4. Mix ground beef with feta cheese, garlic, oregano, and salt & pepper. Be sure not to overmix, or your patties will become tough like a sponge. Form into patties.

5. Place olive oil into medium high heated skillet. Add turkey patties. Cook until they reach an internal temperature of 180*. Be sure to flip so both sides brown. Once complete, squirt the juice of 1/2 lemon all of them. Turn off heat & cover.

6. Toast your rolls in preheated oven. Remove when done.

7. Slice your lettuce, onions, and tomatoes.

8. Assemble as you would a burger. (see condiment suggestions below)

Condiment Suggestions:

1. Kalamata Olive Spread - chopped kalamata olives mixed with cream cheese

2. Garlic aioli - mayonnaise, chopped garlic, and lemon juice

Happy Eating!

Bek Davis (Chef Bek) is a trained chef and a work at home mom. You can find more recipes, cooking tips, and mom resources on her highly recommended websites: http://www.home-garden-product.com, and http://iFreeRecipes.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bek_Davis

Svinghi (Greek Donuts)

1/3 cup Butter
1 cup Water
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated Orange Rind
1 cup, sifted Flour
3 Eggs
for frying Olive Oil
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Water
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Cinnamon

Place butter in a small saucepan. Add water, salt, sugar, orange rind; bring to a boil. Add all the flour at once; stir until smooth. Cook, stirring until the mixture leaves sides of pan in a ball that does not separate. Remove from heat and cool till lukewarm. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition till smooth. Drop dough from a teaspoon into plenty of hot olive oil. Cook over a moderately slow heat only as many doughnuts at a time as will float easily in oil. As soon as doughnuts rise to surface, turn with a long handled fork. Turn often until golden. Remove, hold over oil 1 second; drain on absorbent paper. Prepare syrup as follows: boil 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice for 10 minutes. Pour syrup over doughnuts, sprinkle with cinnamon and serve hot

Melomacarona/Fenikia - Cookies

2 cups Olive Oil
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup Brandy
7-8 sifted Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoons Soda
For the Syrup
2 cups Honey
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Water

Beat together first 4 ingredients. Sift flour, baking powder and soda 3 times. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the oil mixture and knead gently.
Pinch off small portions of dough the size of an egg and form into little patties. Roll them to make oblong rolls. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake in moderate oven for 30minutes. Boil honey, sugar and water for 5 minutes. Pour syrup over "melomacarona". Allow to soak for 15 minutes, take them out of the syrup and place on large plate. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and cinnamon

Syrup
Combine ingredients and boil for 5 minutes.
2 c sugar 1 c water 1 pound honey
1 lemon, sliced or 1 orange, sliced

Fish Plaki

2-3 dorado or striped bream
plenty of chopped parsley
2 bay leaves
2 cans of tinned, crushed tomatoes (or 2-3 fresh, crushed tomatoes)
juice of one lemon
1 onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water
salt & pepper to taste

Clean, wash and lightly salt the fish. Set aside. Sauté the onion and garlic in plenty of olive oil; add plenty of chopped parsley, two bay leaves, lots of fresh or tinned, crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and a little water. Bring to a boil and add the fish with a little lemon juice. Stir carefully to combine and allow to simmer, covered, over low heat. Add a little water from time to time. Once the fish are done the sauce should be thick and plentiful.

Fried Mussels

5 pounds fresh mussels
flour
salt
oil for frying
1 recipe for Garlic-Walnut Dipping Sauce

Wash the mussels, scrubbing their shells and pulling off the little "beard" with a sharp paring knife. Place the mussels in a large wide pot with about two inches of water. Cover and steam until the mussels open, about six or seven minutes. Remove and drain, discarding any mussels that haven't opened.

Remove the mussels from their shells and place in a colander. Season lightly with salt and toss with about one and a half cups of flour, until all the mussels are coated. Tap the colander to rid it of excess flour.

Fill a large skillet with about one and a half inches of oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the mussels, in batches i f necessary and fry until crisp and golden. Serve warm, with Skordalia on the side

Moussaka

1 1/2 lb. Potatoes
1 cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 finely chopped Onion
1 minced Garlic
1 1/2 lb. Aubergines/eggplant
2 tablespoons Butter
3 peeled and chopped Tomatoes
2 teaspoons Salt
dash of Pepper
2 tablespoons, toasted Breadcrumbs
3 Eggs
Parsley
Bechamel Sauce
1/2 lb. Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup Kefalotiri Cheese

Cut aubergines into 1/3 inch slices. Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry aubergine slices a few at a time, until slightly browned. Do the same with the potatoes. Saute the meat, onion, and garlic in the butter. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, over a low heat, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add breadcrumbs, 1 beaten egg and chopped parsley.
Prepare bechamel sauce; add remaining eggs and cheeses. Butter a baking dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Put one layer of potatoes into the baking dish. Cover with half the meat mixture. Alternate aubergine and meat mixture. Top with bechamel sauce and bake.

Green Spinach Fritters

½ kg of spinach
½ kg of wild mountain greens (wild celery, fennel, dill, spring onions…)
a little white fish roe
some salt
some flour

Finely chop the greens and sprinkle with salt; wash well and squeeze out as much water as possible. Combine all the ingredients until they form a thick paste. Using a spoon, add the mixture to hot oil in batches and fry until cooked. Ideal when served with tzatziki

Kreatopita Therini (Meat Pie)

10 servings

4 scallions, chopped
3 Tbsp butter or oil
1 lb veal, beef or lamb (ground)
4 sm Zucchini, scrubbed, cubed
1 sm eggplant, cubed
1 cup canned tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander or allspice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup Grated cheese (Mizithra)
bread crumbs, if necessary
10 commercial filo sheets
6 Tbsp butter, melted

Saute the scallions in the 3 tablespoons butter in a large frying pan and add the meat. Simmer a few minutes, then toss in the zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes, adding the coriander and oregano during the last 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and
stir in the cheese. (The mixture should be thick, if any liquid remains, dust lightly with bread crumbs to absorb.) Line a 9 x 12 x 3-inch baking pan with 6 filo sheets, buttering each. Spread the filling over the filo evenly, then top with the remaining filo sheets, buttering each as before. Score the top few filo sheets into squares or diamonds. Bake in a medium oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden in color and the dough is crisp. Remove from the oven, and let stand for 10 minutes, then cut and serve warm.

Melitzanes Papoutsakia - Stuffed Aubergines

2 finely chopped Onion
1 lb. Ground Beef
2 peeled and chopped Tomatoes
1/4 cup Butter
2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
chopped Parsley
1 slightly beaten Eggs
1/2 cup grated Kefalotiri Cheese
2 tablespoons Breadcrumbs
2 1/4 lbs. (about 12, long and thin) Aubergines
1 1/2 cups Olive Oil
1 cup Bechamel Sauce
1 beaten Egg
1 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce

Brown onions and meat lightly in butter, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook covered for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add parsley, egg, 1/4 cup cheese and breadcrumbs. Peel an inch strip from one end to the other or each aubergine and make a cut lengthwise to within an inch of each end. (On one side of the aubergine only.) Wash and dry. Heat oil in a large frying pan.

Cook slowly, over medium heat about 6 aubergines at a time (covered) until soft and light brown, turning occasionally. Remove carefully from pan with spatula and place in baking pan, keeping cut surface of each aubergine on top. Insert knife blade into slashes and stuff with meat mixture. Prepare one cup of bechamel sauce. Add 1 egg and remaining cheese. Pour about a tablespoon on top of each aubergine. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese and dot with butter. If desired, add tomato sauce to the pan. Bake in a moderate oven for about 35 minutes.

Fasolakia Me Lathi - String Beans With Olive Oil

2 1/2 lbs. String Beans
1 cup Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic
2 sliced thin Onion
1 lb. chopped Tomatoes
3 tablespoons, chopped Parsley
and pepper Salt
1 teaspoons Sugar

Remove ends of string beans and prepare in one of the following ways: cut into 2 inch pieces; snap or cut crosswise into thin slanted slices; or cut into thin strips.
Heat the oil in a saucepan.

Add onions and garlic and cook until soft.
Add tomatoes, beans, parsley, salt, pepper and sugar.
Cover and cook over moderate heat for about 1/2 hour

Bamies Me Patates / Okra with Potatoes

2 lbs. Okra, cleaned
1 bay leaf
2 lbs. potatoes, pared and cut into large chunks
salt and pepper
3 onions, chopped
1 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 liter water
2 cups chopped tomatoes

Wash the Okra, sprinkle with salt and vinegar and toss.
After a few minutes, rinse them well and spread
on a tray to air dry.Pour oil into a large pot, add onions and fry until translucent
Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and garlic and simmer
together for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the Okra and potatoes, and enough water
to cover. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat
and simmer for another 45 minutes.